Pruning
A week after your 21st birthday, I went outside to watch Dad prune your tree and others in our yard. He cut off the branches which were going in the opposite direction. He cut off the ones that looked damaged. He cut off the ones which were going to rub against each other and cause damage during wind storms. He then found suckers. These are new shoots from the root that sprout up fast and straight next to the main tree and they try to take over as the main trunk. He cut those off at the ground. As I silently watched him pruning, it reminded me of how God prunes us. And how He's going to prune you. I remember how He pruned me throughout my life. When I was 16 and going my own direction, after having dedicated my life to him at the age of 7, He started calling me back. I heard Him, I felt Him trying to prune branches out of my trunk. My eyes were opened that certain friends weren't good for me and I felt led to cut those off....